This invention relates to a wheel hub with a freewheel which is suitable for bicycles, motorcycles, minibikes and the like.
Conventional freewheels for bicycles, motorcycles, etc. have a construction in which an inner rim of a freewheel is threaded to the outer periphery of a hub proper and a ratchet mechanism is provided between the freewheel and the inner rim constituted by ratchet pawls on the outer periphery of the inner rim and ratchet teeth on the inner peripheral surface of the freewheel. According to this construction, the inner rim, the ratchet mechanism and the freewheel are placed one upon another concentrically. Thus, with this arrangement it has been very difficult to manufacture small freewheels having a small number of teeth.
The present invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages of the conventional freewheel. The present invention has for its object to make it possible to construct a wheel hub with a freewheel having a small outside diameter at a lower cost by providing a ratchet mechanism laterally of the steel balls.